BAGUIO CITY — More than three years since he was ordered by the Court arrested for rape and molestation in Mountain Province, an individual who went hiding was finally collared in General Nakar, Quezon.

The wanted person, identified as "Tino" was arrested under warrants issued on September 8, 2022, by the Regional Trial Court in Bontoc, Mountain Province. He faces three counts of qualified statutory rape with no recommended bail, and two counts of acts of lasciviousness in relation to Republic Act No. 7610, which carries a recommended bail of PhP 200,000. 

The arrest was carried out during a recent manhunt operation by joint operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Quezon Provincial Field Unit, the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF), and the General Nakar Municipal Police Station.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had placed a PhP 150,000 reward for his capture.

The crime was allegedly committed by the suspect in 2015 where he assaulted his minor niece, then a grade six student, in a storage room. The susowct allegedly threatened the girl not to report what he did. 

The victim reported the abuse to her father seven years later, leading to the filing of criminal complaints in May 2022.

​After the arrest warrants were issued, the suspect fled Mountain Province to hide in the Sierra Madre mountain range, moving between General Nakar, Quezon, and Tanay, Rizal, to evade the law.

The CIDG stated that the arrest is part of its ongoing mandate to locate wanted individuals and protect minors from abuse.